1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a videofluoroscopy device. More particularly, it relates to a videofluoroscopy system capable of producing a picture-in-a-picture motion x-ray image.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Videofluoroscopy devices are known in the prior art and are most commonly used by doctors and practitioners in the fields of chiropractic, orthopedic, osteopathic and sports medicine. The videofluoroscopy device allows a doctor or practitioner to assess problems or abnormalities of a patient's joints, muscles or bones by recording a real time x-ray image of such joints, muscles, and bones on video tape. The video tape can be reviewed at the doctor's or practitioner's leisure, allowing for careful and precise evaluation of a particular problem which might not be evident from an external exam or from conventional static x-ray photos.
Most videofluoroscopy devices are relatively small in design and mount to a wall. The device may be used in an office setting or in a mobile medical vehicle. The videofluoroscopy device mainly consists of a vertical housing enclosing a movement mechanism, the movement mechanism operating a c-arm, the c-arm mounted perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the vertical housing and supporting an x-ray device.
The movement mechanism directs the c-arm upward and downward along the longitudinal axis of the vertical housing. The x-ray device supported upon the c-arm transmits a real time x-ray image to a video tape recorder thereby recording the movement of the entire body of a patient. In particular, the device records x-ray images of the joints, muscles, and bones and their corresponding movements.
Although videofluoroscopy devices and systems of the prior art have been successful in rending real time x-ray images of individuals, none permit the x-ray viewer to simultaneously view the real time x-ray and an external real time image of the patient. A need exists for doctors and others to simultaneously view the real time x-ray with an external real time image of a patient. Such a system and method would permit practitioners to see the correlation between the external and internal movement of related joints, muscles and bones of a patient. A novel system and method that incorporates picture-in-a-picture (PIP) technology could be used to solve this problem.